my journal

Season wishes from Jenny

2009-12-29T08:43:54Z

One thing about Darcy's Journal, I am able to use it to share this with any who I missed in sending out emails. My holiday wishes for you all.

Humorist Erma Bombeck wrote: “There is nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.” The older I get, the more that rings true! A few days ago we were watching the classic movie “A Christmas Story”, Darcy having never seen it. It is the adventures of eight year old Ralphie whose Christmas would not be complete unless Santa delivered his dream gift. “An official Red Ryder Carbine Action 200 shot Range Model Air Rifle.” The movie is narrated by the adult Ralphie who recounts every detail of that “best ever” Christmas with astonishing clarity. It occurred to me that I don’t have detailed memories of any one childhood Christmas, nor any one specific gift. There are, rather; hundreds of wonderful snapshots like images that come to mind…..decorating the tree, Mom stretching colored lights along the roof, her showing my sister and myself how to baste a turkey, (in the days before cooking bags.) and no the cooking never took with me and my sister lives off of take outs, huge family dinners, snow angels, piles of colorful packages. Childhood Christmases were pure joy, wonder and magic. Once we are adults, we assume the mission to create joy, wonder and magic for our own children. As Ms. Bombeck noted, there is sadness in that. Christmas becomes task oriented for us. We try to sustain some sparkle for ourselves and sometimes we are so busy that we forget not only the joy and wonder, but also the reason for the celebration in the first place. I read somewhere, a charming description of Christmas morning attributed to a seven year old child. “Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen.” Love is, after all; what Christmas is all about, and the true gift of Christmas for adults is that it is time for remembering the past, cherishing the present, and hoping for the future. This year, with all of our lives busier than usual; perhaps we should focus on those intangible gifts of the season. Love, remembering, cherishing, and hoping – those things are truly priceless.

This pass year has had it’s up and downs for us. We lost five wonderful relatives, gained three new babies, saw four young nephews off to the war, saw Darcy get her first crush and heart break, saw me take my dream job, with Tim starting a new one soon. We have seen friends and neighbors move due to losing their houses, helped out a cousin with her tough times, and had our own problems with insurance problems. But we have come though it all.

In this pass year, I have seen first hand the friendship, kindness, and joy of this extended family that Darcy and Tim have told me so much about before I married Tim. I have enjoyed every second of my time in Second Life, cutting up with Kat, listening to the young writers, and listening to Mike’s wisdom and also his humor. I have to constantly stop myself and say, this is award winning author I am mercilessly ribbing. But it is all in good fun and I value everyone’s friendship in there. I get a kick out of Brian Brown and Tim playing their online game, both are playing superheros. Thankfully it is just a game, if it was real life we would be doomed for certain. Also thankful for the gifted Mary Brown, who makes some of the prettiest jewelry, and puts up with Brian. And Mike and Lori, I can’t thank you all enough. You may not know it Mike, but your podcasts have helped Darcy not only with her writing and school work, but allowing her reviews to be posted has given her cause to speak up and out a lot more, we have finally gotten past the shyness and this pass year she has really grown, matured, and become a very strong willed person. Now if you all could come up with a “Clean your room regularly” podcast we will be all set.
And Susie, thanks so much for everything. Both Tim and myself are so new to parenting it is scary. We lucked out with her of course, but still your podcast is a blessing. And everyone else, you are all great friends and we feel a part of the family.

So as I sit here in the living room, with the warm glow of the fire, and the blinking Christmas tree. I am reminded of Christmas past, and look forward to sharing many more Christmases with you all. I know I do not write much to you all, working on a computer everyday, it is usually the last thing I want to see when I have time off. Just know you are all always in my thoughts, and I am grateful for every single one of you.

So here is hoping everyone gets everything that they want out of the season, and I wish you all good health, great memories, and best wishes.

I would stay away from the B B Gun. You’ll put your eye out.

Love,

Jenny.

The General - A dvd review

2009-12-27T06:21:20Z

Hey guys,
If you remember, a while ago I did a report for school on Harold Lloyd. The silent film star. Well this time around I thought I would just do a report for you guys on another silent film star. Buster Keaton, and one of his best movies. Mr Keaton was born right here in the midwest, in Piqua, Kansas. (which I have been though a couple times.) He was born, Joseph Frank Keaton VI and was later given the name "Buster", when at the age of six months he tumbled down some stairs and was unharmed. (Talk about a omen of things to come huh?) Buster, his father and mother all were in Vaudeville, and often shared the stage with such people as Harry Houdini, W C Fields, Mr. Bojangles himself, (Bill Robinson, Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson. They had one of the most dangerous acts ever put on stage, all around pranks Buster would perform and his parents would have to save him from. At the age of twenty one, Buster's father became a alcoholic and they had to stop doing the act.
Buster saw his first movie studio in march of 1917 and by april he made his debut film The Butcher Boy. He stayed making films for the same studio even after returning from the war. In 1928 he sighed on with MGM Studios, they treated him very badly, not letting him make films his way, being very strict on everything he did for them. Which led him to be very said and he got into drinking himself. After a big fight, he was finally fired from the studio, but by this time he was long pass caring. Later he was checked into a mental hospital, having gotten as bad as his father years before. Someone at MGM felt sorry for him and rehired him again in 1937 to be their "gag" man. But they didn't feel too sorry for him, because they only paid him 100.00 a week, and he was making ten time that before.
All that is very sad I know, sorry for that guys, but here is the happy part. Buster Keaton was one of the only silent films stars to survive the time when movies jumped over in the talkies we know today. In fact you can see him in his later years cutting it up in old Beach Blanket movies, still wearing his signature straw hat. He also got into brand new media, television and had his own show at one point. I don't know of any other silent film star to do that, maybe Charlie Chaplin? I have yet to get into him. Oh! They were in a movie together called Limelight, I'll have to look for that one.

Buster Keaton's comedies were a lot like the stage act he performed with his parents as a child, he was always getting knocked around, having to perform incredible stunts, ect. In one of his movies he is caught in a giant wind storm and at one point has a house dropped right on him. He is okay though, because he is standing right where there is a opened window. Simple incredible. And you have to remember, he did his own stunts back in a day when there was no blue screens and no CGI. Everything you see him doing is real.

It wasn't until 1959 that he finally won a Oscar for his life work, something he should have gotten a long time before then.

If you want to see some of his best stunts, including the one I mentioned above; go here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2K9ZeBe-HA&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Now on to my review. :)

The General -

"Rejected by the Confederate army as unfit and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle Lee (Marian Mac), young Johnie Gray (Keaton) sets out to single handedly win the war with the help of his cherished locomotive. What follows is, without exaggeration, probably the most cleverly choreographed comedy ever recorded. Johnie wages war against hijackers, an errant cannon and the unpredictable hand of fate while roaring along the iron rails, exploiting the the comedic potential of Keaton's favorite props, the train. Insisting on accuracy in ever detail, Keaton created a remarkably authentic historical epic, replete with hundreds of costumed extras, full scale sets and the breath taking plunge of an actual locomotive from burning bridge into a river. "

Buster Keaton always said this was by far his favorite movie, and I can see why. He put so much of himself into it. Building sets that were to scale, not minatures, spending money and getting not one but two real trains, and hiring 500 national guardsmen from Oregon to play both armies. He did all of his own stunts as well, just like always.
The movie itself is based on a true story! In April 1862, Union agent James J. Andrews led a squad of 21 soldiers on a daring secret raid. Dressed in civilian clothes, Andrews and his men traveled by rail into the Southern states. Their mission was to sabotage rail lines and disrupt the Confederate army's supply chain. At the town of Little Shanty, GA, the raiders stole a locomotive known as "The General." They headed north, tearing up track, burning covered bridges and cutting telegraph lines along the way. Just like what happens in the movie. Johnnie sees this and gets in another train, and the race is on. He has to get a head of them and warn the troops as to what has happened, and to prove his bravery to his one true love.

This was a great movie, full is stunts,laughs and some of the funniest sight gags I have seen in a old movie. There is one scene where Annabelle and Johnnie are on the train trying to getaway from the bad guys, Johnnie asks her to help him shovel in more coal. She sits on the floor and hands him pieces of coal one at a time, picking out "the pretty ones" and throwing away the ugly ones. hehehe , too funny. The whole movie is a little over a hour long, but it will have you on the edge of your seats in places and your jaw will drop at some of the stunts. This is really a great movie to watch with the whole family.

So if you are looking for a good family movie to watch, why not go back old school and check this one out. It is considered by a lot of people to be one of the greatest movies ever made. To me it is just a great movie to watch and enjoy.

You can find it on Amazon, or on Turner Classic Movies web site. Seek this one out guys, I know you will really like it a lot.

Darcy

Something from Christmas pass

2009-12-25T22:01:21Z

Best part about having Jenny for a mom,

She can find anything here at the house. hehe. Here is a picture of dad WAAAAAAAAAY back when he was a kid. LOOK AT THAT BIG GRIN!! hehehe! Grandpa said that was a genuine G.I Joe Remote control tank. Was almost as big as he was. Ever notice how you never see dad and Dick Chenney in a picture together? hmmmmmm. hehehe.

Darcy

They got me again!

2009-12-25T19:27:46Z

Merry Christmas guys!
Hope everyone is having the best holiday ever. We actually got a little snow this morning, woots! I have been up since 5am. (who can sleep on christmas eve anyway?)
Now every year we always exchange gifts with family on thanksgiving, with everyone scattered all over, it is the only time everyone is more or less in one place. So i figured that was going to be it. Oh we still had boxes under the tree here, but he has fooled me once before with that. So I figured they were just for looks and empty like last year. Well....I was half right. The boxes were empty, stuffed with tissue. except for one small box. Inside was a note, "go check the garage." hehe, all my gifts were in the trunk of the car! Uncle dave was in on the joke yet again. And Jenny kept me busy last night while dad got my new/used bike all set up. yeps i got a new bike! I out grew my other one. This one is white and silver and sooo pretty. We are going to give Ashley my old one. :)

And I got books. OH WOW did i get books! Grandpa got me all of the Alex Rider books, ALL of them! glee! I also got eight other books from Dad and Jenny, From Nina Kimberly to a book on the man who created Calvin and Hobbes. (can't wait to read that one.) I also got a pair of fuzzy killer bunny slippers from uncle dave. (Bunny from monty python, white with big point teeths!hehe.) Jenny got me some tommy girl and a huge warm white robe with big sleeves and a hood. (I look like a druid in it, hehe.)

And dad got me something I never expected. We are going to build me a desktop computer!! yeps, got the case, (pink) got the hard drive, mother board, video card, a cd play and a dvd player that plays blu ray disk!!! MEGA WOOTS!

Best christmas ever?? oh yea.

Ad all that to a cool origami kit i got from my farvorite aunt and uncle, and the pretty pink braclet I got from my other favorite aunt and uncle and I scored big time!

Hope you guys got all you wanted too. Funny thing is I never asked for anything this year...maybe I am on to something here. hmmmmm.

Darcy

Tales of the Red Panda

2009-12-10T08:46:46Z

Hi guys,
As promised I am back again with another review, but this time it is going to be something completely different. Yep, this time you are not going to get one review, but three! Read on and you will see.

The Tales of the Rad Panda - The Crime Cabal.
A book review by Darcy Low.

From the back of the book: "Even the united remnants of Toronto's defeated underworld couldn't resist the city's masked protectors. But when they join with the murderous might of some of the masked man's deadliest foes, can even the Red Panda match the strength of the Crime Cabal?"

I love a good story, does not matter what it is, if it takes me into it, makes me a part of it and leaves me wanting still more; I will follow it forever. That is why I am so excited to share this with you guys, this time it is really something special. I listen to a lot of podcasts, sometimes alone and sometimes with Dad and Jenny,and sometimes I will share with my Grandpa. The Red Panda is one for everyone. So when I saw they were coming out with a book, I just had to get it.

The Red Panda is a Canadian crime fighter from the thirties, during the time of mobsters, racketeers, ect. He is a crime fighter much like The Shadow or Batman, In that he is a multi millionaire, who uses the powers of his mind and gadgets he comes up with. But unlike both of those crime fighters, he has more of a heart I think. More personable maybe? He has gone beyond the law in many cases, doing what they could not do and this has made him more than a few enemies on both sides of the law. Some see him as a agent of good, others see him as a mobster trying to rub out competitors in order to set things up for himself. Of course we know the truth. :)
When his true identity is learned by his female chauffeur, he takes her in and trains her to fight by his side. Calling herself the Flying Squirrel, (because of her cool outfit and the ability to float with wings that are sewn into it, she learns martial arts and hides his identity from the public.

The Panda also has various people around the city that keeps him informed as to what is going on. A network of sorts, made up of citizens, reporters, cops, ect. I thought this was very well done myself. None knows his true identity and no one knows of anyone else in the network.

Now in the book, the Panda and Flying squirrel have been fighting crime for a while, and have just put away one of the last remaining big gangs. All that is left are various members that are in hiding and have gone underground. But old habits are hard to break I guess, because there are a few that see this as a great time to band together and form their own gang, to rub out the Panda once and for all and gain control of the city. One such gangster is Malcolm Reynolds, he was once the right hand man of one of the most powerful gangs in the city. Now in the ruins of a club, he has called together all the remaining mobs and asked them to join with him and take over the city in a wave of crime never seen before. There are more than a few people who do not like this idea at all of course, until he introduce two people. Kid Chaos and a Mysterious woman who calls herself Professor Zombie. Kid Chaos is a mad bomber who just loves to blow things up. And the Professor? Well she wants to build a army.

When things get out of Malcolm's hands and he loses control of these two, things really heat up. Both the Panda and the Flying Squirrel are pushed to their limits as they have to fight a army of goons who will not stop no matter how many bullets you put into them, and what is the Panda to do when his mind tricks do not work? Zombies can't be fooled my mind tricks you know.

The book is really, really good. It reads just like a pulp comic from way back when. Also just like the podacast radioshow. (don't worry I'll get to that in a bit.)

The banter between The Panda and the Flying Squirrel is both funny and romantic, Although both have yet to tell each other how they feel. You as a reader can tell. What makes it so funny is, here you have a Batman type crime fighter who is tough as can be and who can karate chop his way out of trouble. But when a pretty girl flirts with him, he is a shy little schoolboy. Often all he can say is "Kit Baskter, behave yourself." Kit is the Squirrel's real name. The book gives them both more depth than what you get in the radioshow, but it also gives us more insight into how they get around town so fast, introduces some of the minor characters of the Panda's network, and also brings out the character of Chief O'mally. O'mally is a good cop, but he has a deep hate for the Red Panda and will stop at nothing at either bringing him in or unmasking who he really is.

The book is full of action and cliffhangers, and really makes you want to turn the page to see what happens next. It is something if you are an adult and like old radio shows, film nior, or stuff like would love. And this is okay for kids as well, I did not see anything that parents would object to here. (is a lot of shoot outs, but then again there are gangsters and bad guys, so it is to be expected.

Overall, this is a great first book by Mr. Gregg Taylor. Who is one of the main actors over on Decorder Ring theather.

www.decorderringtheatre.com

if you go there, you can order this book right from the web site, like we did.

But while you are there, I want you guys to check out the podcasts they have. They are all done like they did back in the old days. In fact my grandpa thinks this is some of the best ones he has heard. And they are all clean, each show ends, they don't leave you hanging until the next chapter. Each is it's own story. Make sure to check out Black Jack Justice. It is about a detective and he girl detective partner, it is also very good. Both the Red Panda and Black Jack feature strong female characters who not only fight along side of the men, but aren't afraid to put them in their places if need be. I love that, something you don't see too much of anywhere.

So there you go guys, one book review and two podcast reviews. All in one posting. :)

I do hope you guys check it all out. It is some really great stuff, and we should support new authors every chance we get. I am hoping they can get Mr Taylor on Dragon Page soon.

Take care guys, more stuff coming soon. I am on a roll. :)

Darcy

Worldweavers - a book review

2009-12-08T07:01:56Z

Hi Guys,
Getting back to my reviews. This time around I got a great book that tells a old story, (or one that has been told before.) But in a very different way. I think you are going to like it. Many thanks to Summer for pointing my towards this series and the writer. :)

Worldweavers- Gift of the unmage.

From the back of the book.
"As the seventh child of two powerful seventh children, Galathea Winthrop was expected to grow into magical abilities beyond anything previously imagined. Instead, she has spent the last 17 years trying desperately to achieve something, anything, in her Ars Magica class at school. Thea has learned to live with her older brothers' jokes about her lack of abilities, but what she cannot face is the look in her father's eyes each time she tries to do magic and fails.

After one last failed magical attempt, Thea overhears her parents talking about sending her to the Wandless Academy, the only school in the country for those who cannot perform magic (otherwise known as the Last Ditch school for the Incurably Incompetent at least to Thea). Thea's final chance to awaken her dormant gift is a mysterious trip back in time to meet with an even more mysterious tutor a member of a now-extinct people known as the Anasazi. In the Anasazi's ancient world, Thea learns that she is not incapable of performing magic, but rather that her spiritual self chose not to let her, at least in her world. Now, she must figure out why, before those from whom she was protecting herself discover that she has found her powers. "

This is the first book of the series, and it will remind a lot of people of the Harry Potter series. Which I guess is bound to happen to a lot of teen books about magic. But here it is a bit unfair. thea does have the talent for magic, incredible magic at that; but something is holding her back from preforming anything. And being born under such a lucky sign, and with her older brothers and family's abilities; there is a lot expected of her. But try as she might she just continues to fail, and whine about it being so unfair. (She whines a lot.) After going to this "Last ditch school", she is helped by Chevyo, who helps her to discover her hidden talent. This not only helps her to do her magic, but comes at just the right time. Because her and the other students at the school, who everyone had given up on, are called upon to save the world.

There is a bit of Hogwarts feel to the school, but there is also a bit of another book called "Winkle in time" there as well. The writer really does a great job of making us feel for Thea, her story must be what it is like to have older brothers or sisters that did well at school. And then you come along and everyone judges you on what they did in the past. It is unfair. Although I am a only child I could still relate to Thea a bit. Starting a new school and all, but also finding that hidden talent that you thought you didn't have. It made me think about a lot of things, and that is the mark of a good book.

Anyone that knows me for very long, knows I can't stop asking questions. Why I love to do research on anything so much. Like Thea, I ask why a lot. Sometimes I find my answers, sometimes it is just the way things are. Thea is still learning that. While she is looking for answers on her own at the school, she stumbles upon a plot there to take over the world. So it is up to the kids that the society has more or less abandoned to come to the rescue.

Don't get the idea that this is a simple teen book, it's not. There is a lot of depth here. There is a lot of things going on, some of it is a bit weird, but that just adds to the story.

I only had a couple nit picks with the books, I just wanted to point out. Because I think it might hang some people up and make them put the book down and walk away. You shouldn't, this is a great book and the writer is very good. But as it is the first book in the series, there is bound to be a few things.after all she is setting the stage for something more to come.

First off, the writer uses descriptions a great, great deal, in some cases that helps out a lot. And I thank her for it, but there were places that it could have been cut back a bit. You don't have to tell us everything, let our imagination fill in the gaps if there are any. I love to do that myself, makes me feel more of a part of the story.

Second, there are characters and things we are told about for a few pages that the writer never gets back to. I am hoping she is setting us up for seeing them in later books. But that is a little disappointing, at least to me it was.

But only two sore spots, not at all bad for a first book in a series and something I was able to look past. I loved also how the writer brought a lot of things together, things you would not think of in a story about magic.

Thea's roommate Magpie, has a fondness for hurt animals and is always hiding one and bringing it into the dorm room. Ben is a tall red haired boy who sneezes when he "Smells" magic, (reminds you of Ron from Harry Potter.) And lastly Terry, who is a computer genius who can't speak a word that deals with magic because he has a allerigic reaction to it and his sister Tess who can't eat anything that has been prepared by magic for the same reason. There was not a lot more written about these characters, so I am hoping in the next book she will flesh them out more. I would love to learn more about them and why they are the way they are.

The boy who is a genius at computers was a bit different and I was not expecting him at all, seeing how this was dealing with magic and a fantasy type world, but the writer managed to pull it off well I think, and it did not pull me out of the story at all.

Overall, I thought this was a great first book in a series. There is three in all so far, not sure if it is just a trilogy or not, did not have time to check with the holiday and everything. But I really liked this book a lot, and can't wait to dive into the others. I think it is going to be fun.

So there you go guys, if you are looking for something new to read over the holidays while you are snowed in, you might want to check this series out. I think it is a great one for kids and fans of Harry potter type books.

Take care, and have fun reading!

Darcy

The Empress and the Warriors

2009-12-07T00:07:56Z

Hey guys!
Okay it's time for me to get back to writing you up some reviews. Sorry I had to take some time off for the holidays and getting gifts for people. Hope you all had a great thanksgiving and a even better christmas. My first review here is of a dvd I got from my Uncle Dave. He knows how much I love a good story and a great movie. This one fills the bill on both counts, you're going like this one. :)

The Empress and the Warriors - A dvd review by Darcy Low

From the back of the dvd. " In the tradition of Seven Swords comes the action saga of a kingdom locked in a desperate battle survival. Martial arts superstar Donnie Yen (Seven Swords)and Hong Kong film award winners Kelly Chen (Infernal Affairs) and Leon Lai (Seven Swords) team up as sword welding heros on a quest to united a divided nation and wage a massive war against an invading horde. Created by the celebrated action choreographer and cinematographer behind Jet Li's Hero and House of the Flying Daggers, An Empress and the Warriors takes epic action to new heights."

Ummmmm, well that's all nice and stuff; but really dosen't tell you the story huh? Guess that's my job.

When the movie starts out, orphan turned uber General Muyong (Donnie Yen) is leading the charge into battle alongside the King of Yan, while Princess Feier (Kelly Chen) stays behind to tend to the wounded. After the king is wounded, and then later assassinated by his ne’er-do-well nephew Wu Ba (Xiadong Guo), a power vacuum must be filled. The King tells his daughter that Muyong should take up his sword and become king after his death. He feels that his knowledge of war and his kindness for people well help to unite everyone. But after the king dies, Muyong tells the elders it was the king's wishes that his daughter should become empress, thus throwing her into a mess of things. Muyon promises to train Feier as a warrior, so that she may rule the kingdom. things don’t quite work out as Muyong had planned. Wu Ba is none too pleased about having his power grab ruined by a chick, and being the conniving power hungry jackal that he is, sets assassins upon Feier during her training in the woods. She is wounded but manages to escape with the help of a medicine man, who takes her in and shows her a different way of life. He is like a peasant and lives a simple life, but he is also a dreamer and teaches her a lot about how in order to have a dream come true, it needs someone to dream. (they say it better in the movie, sorry.)There is also a lot more to him than we first learn, but to say more would spoil things. The two fall deeply in love, but the Empress knows she still has to return to her kingdom, the war is still going on and she has to do something. But a lot has happened since she has been gone.
Wu Ba has returned and has taken control of the empire, forcing Muyong into hiding. Can the princess arrive in time to united the remaining people and help regain the throne? How can one girl hope to stand against a trained warrior and his army?

The movie was fantastic, with a lot of sword fighting, intrigue and even a very good love story. I loved when she was in the forest and was healing up, you could tell they were both falling for each other. And At first she acted like a spoiled brat, but her walls came down over time and you could see they truely fell in love.

Muyong was a great character as well, as a orphin growing up, he and the princess became very close and were like brother and sister. I like how they played off each other in the film. But also, as a orhin he had a lot to prove to the elders after the kings death. I think he really did a great job of holding things together as best he could.

I don't want to spoil anything here, but I will say you will need some tissues. Some parts were very sad.

Over all, if you liked films like Crouching Tiger or House of the Flying Daggers, then you will really like this as well. The acting is very good and so is the plot.

For Parents, there are war scenes so there is some blood, but nothing too bad. There is a love scene as well, but it is done very romantically and nothing is showing. Bare arms and shoulders is all. (And really isn't that how it should be?) So this movie would be okay to watch and not be worried.

the movie trailer is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_H2mCqMuo4

Check it out guys, I think you will like it a lot.

Darcy

Planet 51 movie review

2009-11-30T06:22:40Z

Hi Guys,
Hope everyone had a great holiday and hope you didn't eat too much. :)
We went to see this movie earlier over the weekend, so I thought I would do a quick review of it. I will be careful not to spoil anything. I will say that everyone should go see it, this was made for us Sci Fi geeks. hehe.

Planet 51-
from the IMDP Website.
"Lem is just an average teenager working on getting the girl and furthering his career at the local planetarium - except that he's an alien. At least to U.S. astronaut Captain Charles T. Baker who lands on Lem's planet hoping for a quick flag plant and a hasty return to earth and his millions of screaming fans. But on this alien planet the media has tagged spacemen as brain-eating, zombie-creating monsters, causing Baker to run for his life and into Lem's house. Now it's up to the green native to get the clumsy astronaut back to his spaceship before military dictator General Grawl and mad scientist Professor Kipple manage to exterminate the Earthly visitor."

Okay, first off; think of all the old Sci Fi movies from back in the 50's and 60's. All the ones like The day the earth stood still, Invaders from mars, ect. Now add in a little Back to the Future, do a switch where the Earth Astronaught is the alien. Mix that all up and that would be this awesome movie!
Lem is just a average teen, just like it says above. He has finally gotten a job working for the science center and can't wait to go home and tell his parents and friends. He is in love with the girl who lives next door, but has always been far too shy to do anything about it. Until today. Unfortunately, several things happen all at once that puts a monkey wrench into him asking her out. He is not the only one that has eyes for her, there is a another alien teen that is making the moves on her. (A alien version of Bob Dylan, I kid you not.) hehe. And a Astronaught who just so happens to pick today of all days to land on the planet.

Now for years the aliens of planet 51 have been told that they are the only life in the galaxy, a fact that Lem truly believes. But now all of that has been turned upside down. And everyone has to do some rethinking. Unfortunately, (again) they consider humans to be "Brain controlling monsters!) And everyone panics, causing Chuck and his new found aliens friends to go on the run. Lem not only has to help Chuck get back to his ship, convince the people in his town that what they have been told all these years just isn't true, avoid the army who wants the "Alien Brain"; but he has to win the girl of his dreams heart as well.

This movie had old Sci fi movie references, the characters were taken from other geeky films we have all seen and love, there are movie quotes, and a whole lot of inside jokes. The one thing that steals the show is the little robot from earth, "Rover". hehe, he and the Alien dog was just a riot. I won't say no more on that, you will just have to see it.

Chuck himself is a lot like a combination of Tom Cruise from Top Gun and something else as well. He is not all he seems to be, put it that way. Lem is Marty from Back to the future, hehe. Right down to his haircut and outfit. Both have some really great lines.

Guys honestly, you all need to see this one. It's not just another animated kid's movie. Although it is great for kids. This is for anyone. If you liked Monsters vs Aliens and all the old time sci fi references, you are going to love this as well.

Go see it, and write it down. You will want the dvd when it comes out later. No doubt about it.

:)

Laterz guys,

Darcy

here is a link to the web site for it and trailer. Looks like they already got a game coming out for it and everything.

Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaBAOVslv08

web site - http://www.planet51.com/

Oh yeah, one last thing. The voice of Chuck is of course the Rock. I am wondering if he has kids of his own? He does some really great kid's movies. I like him a lot, never watched the "Wrastlin", but he is a good actor. :)

some cool internet links you should check out.

2009-11-28T09:30:05Z

Hi hi,
I love looking up stuff on the internet and doing research. I have gotten really good at it too, one of the reasons I think I would make a good movie reviewer. I do extra work to tell more about the actors and the movie itself. And it is always cool if it is a remake, what isn't these days? To go back and visit the first of anything.
Every once in a while I will come across some cool web sites, so I thought I would share here. Now most of the credit for these goes to the folks at www.nodwick.com
The artist is a true geek and loves to share cool stuff he has found by posting the links on his front page. so most of thanks go to him. But I have found some really cool stuff as well. Now all of these should be kid safe, I do try my best to be careful. (let me know please if anything is offensive or anything. There is this online game i see advertized a lot where you play some castle type game, but the add has this girl with very little on. :( dumb really. Anyway, I hope you guys like these.

:)

First off is a short movie someone has put together of 100 years of movie special effects. See how many films you can name. I though this was awesome.
http://gajitz.com/watch-100-years-of-cinematic-special-effects-in-5-minutes/

Wesley was in the new Star trek. See if you can hear him in this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJNKW_1YqW0

Need to lose weight after thanksgiving? I got the perfect gift for you. hehe.

http://perpetualkid.com/fridge-locker.aspx

It's been a long time since they came out with a good tv christmas special. I came across this one and it looks really good. :)

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/a-preview-of-prep-landing.html

Okay, on this one I have no idea if this is a real foreign movie or what. I don't even know what country it is from. But WOW! Think Skycaptain, meets War of the worlds. You guys can keep Transformers, I want to see this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dadPWhEhVk

This one kinda blew me away. I can't imagine a country way back then with a army of over 50,000 soldiers. It is no wonder they had almost everything back then.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33791672/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Well they are remaking another movie. This one does look kinda cool though. But does anyone else think of the movie Troy when you watch this? And is that one guy Markie Mark??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX1VZ26nCAs

Here is 70 facts about Marvel comics I bet you guys never knew.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6892313.ece

Rocky was a part of G I Joe???

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/12/comic-book-legends-revealed-233/

This one is a pretty good short movie. What if the earth had rings like saturn? what would it look like?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT2sQ7KIQ-E

Another cool movie on the same page is this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_upS1QgJqjg&feature=fvw

Out takes from the new Star Trek movie. Or, why Simon Peg why Simon Pegg is the new Tim Conway. Too funny. Also, Mr Abrams should stick to rap music. Seems he is more interested in that. Just saying. That would have got on my nerves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoRHoxN4KKo

And lastly, here is something for the Star War fans. Because Sometimes Stormtroopers need to make a run for it. Might As well do it in style. :)

The other two shoes are lame, but these I would buy.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96340-Adidas-Shows-Off-Stormtrooper-Sneakers

So there you go. If I find more I will post them.reviews will be next, been busy cause of the holidays.

Darcy

So full, I can't hardly type

2009-11-27T03:19:39Z

Hi Hi,
Hope everyone survived thanksgiving and didn't eat too much. hehe. I ate enough for everyone, believe me. We had a total of 85 people out in the country. we go every year and dad's side of the family always rents out this big lodge, that way people from out of town can stay there and the main ballroom is huge enough to fit everyone. It's really pretty too, like a hunting lodge with wood ceilings, exposed bricks and a big fireplace. They have been going there for someone said over fifty years. But, sadly this is the last year we will be able too. The people that own it, their kids, have decided it is too much to take care of. So they are closing it all up. Not sure if they are going sell it or what. :(
We still had a great time though, so got to see people I have not seen all year. and all the new babies! three this year, so cool. I got a few christmas gifts, I will be getting all of them saturday. So far I got a new winter coat, leather one! Glee! some new boots to wear. I got a new ipod too! so now I have more room for you guys podcast and e books! I got two cook books from my aunt Betty, one on how to make jelly. mmmmmmm. Also got a gift card to borders. (gee, how did they know I like books? hehe.) Jenny gave me a bottle of Tommy girl that came with a cool messenger bag. Just the size for my laptop or a book or two. :)

I really didn't ask for anything this year, so everything is a surprise. That really makes it a even better holiday I think, it shows that people know me well and was thinking about me. Ashely got me two cd's, owl city and a lifehouse one I didn't have. Had not even seen it before. :)

Over all it was a great thanksgiving. Getting colder, but no snow. So far anyways. Hope you guys had a great one and got a lot of good things to eat. Also hope you remembered what you are thankful for. With all the bad that happened last year is was kinda hard I know. But you all are on the top of my list every year. Really cool friends that I am so glad to have in my life. loves ya!!!

Darcy

More coming. I have been busy. :)

Pow, Bam, Whoosh, Biff!

2009-11-23T16:36:17Z

Biff?

Hey Guys!
Hope everyone is all set for thanksgiving, and I hope all you turkeys have found a good hiding place this year. Hehehe. I am off all this week, so I will be adding a few things to here. Telling you what I have been up to, what we are doing for the holiday, ect.

But I wanted to tell you first about a cool online computer game dad and I have been playing. It's called Champions on line. And it rocks my socks! It is based on the old role playing game Champions, where you roll up a super hero and act out things like in a comic book. :)
You can be pretty much anything you want, as you will see from my pictures. Just as long as you don't use any copy righted names. You can make a green latern, batman or wolverine. (although will see a lot of them in the starting areas, you won't later on. they will make you redo your character.) Now you can LOOK like a character from a comic book, that's okay. Just have to watch your names.
It is sorta like World of Warcraft, but also a lot different. In Warcraft, you have trade skills, where you make things to wear and sell. In champions your skills help you character's stats. You can take science, (science!) ; arms, and magic. And in each of those you have things like equipment, mutations, and spells. There are also things you make that you can equip, like guns, sheilds, healing patches, ect. All to help your character. Your enemies range from Ice Demons, Zombies, Aliens, various street gangs, to Foxbats. (very dorky super hero wanna be.) Some are very tough, and some group themselves. (One new thing is how if a enemie is down on hit points and others are around, they will call in support. So they act smart in this game.)
The costumes are the bomb, you can do anything with them. Oh and in the game you can fly, tunnel, ride on ice, ride on a cloud, have jet boots, ect. If it was in a comic, it's in here. So if you are looking for something new to play while it is cold and snowy out, check this one out.

And now onto the pictures!

First I will show mine. I messed up and delete a couple dad had but I thought he no longer played. So dad got us extra character slots. That way I have mine and he has his. (I am off limits on his now.) Which is okay, I got a lot to choose from. :)

This is my most recent one. Her name is Addy Tude. (notice the smirk??? hehe.) She is my fire character. Kinda like Johnny Storm. (Oh, you will notice the names are punny. hehe. dad is a lot worst than me though.

This is my main character, Crouching Panda. She is a Samurai. She uses two swords, and kicks butts! Cool Armour huh?

This is the Red Falcon. She is my Darkness character. Darkness is a lot like a magic user. She casts spells like fear, and holds enemies using dark, sticky goo.

This is Red Panda. She is my Gunslinger girl. She has two alien ray guns that i picked up in the game and a shotgun. (Shotguns rule.) They push back enemies and you can take out whole groups.

This is Plum Crazy. hehe. (Jenny named her.) She is my healer character. She is able to heal herself and other characters. She can also use her powers to drain enemies life force to add to her own health. It is one of the new characters you can play. Pretty cool.

This is Lady Lionheart. She is my ice character. She can freeze enemies to the spot, ride on ice, and breath a ice wind.

This is Captain Arrrrg. hehe. He is my Ninja/Pirate character. He fights with a single blade. (But I added some surprises to him as well.) I based him on all those old pirate films with Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks. Really liking how he turned out.

Okay now onto dad's. Be warned, the names are groaners.

This is Omega One. Dad's third power armour guy. (Looks wicked huh?) He is like a Robotech character. Why is it his third? Ummmmm, let's move on.

This is dad's gunslinger. Black Jack Justice. He is based on the podcast of the same name. (Which I will be reviewing for you guys soon.)

This is Rand Outta Ink. (I warned ya.) He is dad's darkness character. He has no face because the artist......yeah you get the joke. He is based on Dick Tracy. (sorta.)

This is Lowpang. (Yeah, he went there.) He is dad's samurai character. I really like that armour.

This is Dad's fighter character. The Arggo Knight. Why Arggo? Dad has this habit of attracting bad guys, just ask Brian Brown. if you see him coming, chances are he is bringing friends along. (Think of the scene in Galaxy Quest, where they are pulling the mines.) Dad is all that.

This is Mongo. Mongo no longer likes candy, Candy gives Mongo gas. Makes Mongo hear Looney tunes music. Mongo is dad's fire character. He ummmmm, shoots a blue flame. hehehe.

This is Lord Url. this is dad's ice character. He is based on the celtic god of winter. Looks pretty cool! And has a normal name. (well for dad anyways.)

This is Placebo. (sigh) Dad's healer character.

And there you are. That is Clanlow. Heros who stand for truth, justice and Skittles! If you get it and go online, look us up. chances are we are getting our butts whipped, but hey we look good!

Hehehe.

Laters

Darcy

Oh and Biff? I figure that is some artist's kid's name. :)

A little observation.

2009-11-09T18:00:47Z

Okay,
I am going out of my normal Darcy review type thing to share something with you guys. I am sorry if this steps on any ones toes, or if you get offended in any way. I just want to show you all something and simply ask a question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMdlcnK_MI4

This was shown in my social studies class. This what is going on up on capitol hill and why things are not getting done folks. Plan and simple. So my question is this, all we have been hearing from one side of the political party has been The President has not gotten anything done. Gee, wonder why that is. So my question is this? Do they not think that people can't see this stuff? And one more question if I can, how do people that actually voted for these people feel about this? I am thinking they are none too happy.

Look, I am only fourteen years old. There is a world of things I don't know about. But seriously?? This is like kids on some play ground. Look, we tried things one way for eight long years, it didn't work out. We were left with a mess. Let's all be honest here. Two wars, job losses, people losing their homes, health care, ect, ect, ect. And for years we were told, "Oh don't let anything concern you. We know what we are doing." In fact if you even questioned or spoke out on anything, you were slapped with a "You are unpatriotic." To me it's not wonder President Obama won the election. How can anyone have a spark of hope for this country's future with all that going on? No wonder people wanted a change.

Now I like president Obama a lot. He is far from perfect, and made some really dumb mistakes. But hey he is human. Name me one President we have had at anytime that was perfect. Can't do it can you? Nope, they all had faults.

This video proves to me how childish some so called grown ups can be, and these are supossed to be well educated people. This is why I don't get people like Glenn Beck, Russ, and Micheal Savage. Why listen to them and more than that, why let THEM decide for you what you should believe? Don't we all have our own minds anymore??

Like I said, very sorry if this offends anyone. Everyone has a right to follow and choose what side they are on. To me there are good politicians on both sides. Just not so much in this video.

I think we should let President Obama do what he can for the country, if it doesn't work out, okay. There is always the next election to try again.

But this?? Seriously? I just don't get it at all. One last question please. What happened to respect in this country? Maybe if we get that back, then we can start changing thing huh?

Darcy

Oh, this is for the adults. Sorry there is a bad cuss words on that link. Nothing I can do about that. Very sorry.

Astroboy, then and now.

2009-11-08T14:11:37Z

Hi guys,
How about a movie review? Got a great one for you this time. The new Animated movie Astro Boy is out and in the theatres. We went to see it and I wanted to tell you it's really good. But, like all my review now, I wanted to give you a lot more than what you will get like on Yahoo and other places. I want to give you a histroy lesson as well. :)

Astro boy has been around for a long time. It started out as a Manga back in 1952, back before even dad was born. His Japanese name is, Tetsuwan Atomu. Which translates to mean Mighty Atom. He was the first tv anime, starting in Japan back in 1963. It was later remade back in the 1980's and again in 2003. Now it has been remade again with the current movie which is based on the old tv series.

The story of Astro is pretty cool, and has been done a lot later on. It is a lot like Pinnocchio in a lot of ways. Toby, which is Astro's real name; is the young son of the scientist Doc tor Tenma. Toby is killed in a tragic accident in a lab, but is rebuilt into a robot but is infused with his DNA. So he is part robot and part human. He looks and acts just like he did as Toby, but has a unlimited power core. (Think Ironman.) And has various weapons and gadgets to help him out. (In the new movie he has machine guns in his rear end. hehe.

Astro lives in the future, where robots and humans live side by side on a floating city. The robots do all the work, much like in Wall e. But when they get broken or useless, they are dumped off the floating city to land in a dump heap below. And are forgotten. (talking about the new movie here. Sorry I should have said.)

In the new film, Astro is given a blue core as a power source. Which came from a comet. When the scientist discovered this power source, they also discovered a red power source as well. The red is much more unpredictable, think matter and anti matter. The red power source is given to a military robot by a power hungry mayor, looking for to get re elected. The result being the accident in the lab. When control is finally regained and Toby is gone; the mayor demands the blue power source. But Doctor Tenma refuses and puts it into Astro. After being rejected by his father, astro finds himself on the surface below the city, but the mayor is still looking for him. He also meets, to his surprise; humans still living down there. Discarded like the robots they live with. With his new found friends, can Astro bridge the gap between humans and robots? Can he face the challenge that is yet to come? Will he get back to his father? And what about the mayor that is looking for him and wants his power source for himself? You will just have to go see the new movie to find out.

Where the new movie differs from the old tv show is a couple places. In the orginal series he is rejected by his father, due to the fact he can never grow old. He will always be the same boy. Which was just too much for his father to bare. He is sold to a cruel circus owner named Hamegg. Also, in the orginal show, Toby is killed in a auto accident and is built as a robot. One last thing, he is found at the circus by the new head of the ministry of science, Doctor Ochanomizu. Who gets him away from the circus and treats his as a son. Later to become his legal guardian.

In the new movie, he tries to bridge the gap between robots and humans. In the orginal, many times he is fighting robots. So that is different as well.

Over all, both are well worth seeing and I think everyone will enjoy them both. The new movie is just fantasic, I really loved it. The tv series are still available on dvd too. You can find the box sets on Amazon. We found them too at Best Buy, so they are easy to get.

I do hope everyone will go see this movie and enjoy the dvds. So if I spoiled anything here, i tired not to. I am just gushing about it I guess. hehe.

Have fun guys and enjoy.

peace out,

Darcy

Darcy goes to the dogs.

2009-11-07T19:14:04Z

Hi hi,
Got a good one for you guys this time, this is by far the best book I read in a while. You are soooooo going want to go out and get this one. :)

Flawed Dogs (the novel) - A book review by Darcy Low

You ever sat and watched a dog while it is sleeping? Check out the little ears twitching, the tail wagging or how the feet move as if they are chasing something? Ever wonder just what DO dogs dream about? Mr Berkely Breathed has, and thanks to this book; Now I now too.

" Keep it quiet, but the world's most famous dog show is about to be attacked. Who are the daring but atrociusly bred commandos led by a suspiciously beautiful dachshund? Not at all what they seem, that's for certain."

Before we start, just let me give you a tip. You will need a box of tissues nearby, going to need it.

This is the story of Sam the lion. A very rare and beautiful Dachshund with a destiny bigger than him. When the book starts out, he has been bought, with a bunch of other dogs by a woman who wants to raise dogs to put into the Westminster dog show. Sam has a small tuff of hair on his head, that makes him the rarest of the rares of all dogs. But Sam only wants out of his cage, to run in fields and be free.
Heidy Mccloud is a young fourteen year old girl whose life has been turned upside down by her parents sudden deaths. She is sad and lonely, and a trouble maker in school. She is being sent to live with her uncle who used to raise showbred dogs. Heidy is not looking forward to this as all, she doesn't even like dogs. That is until her and Sam's eyes meet while she is sitting in her plane after arriving in her new hometown.
When the book starts out, we know none of this, in fact the first chapter is one of the saddest things I ever read and I almost gave up on this book. DON"T DO IT. Keep reading, you will thank me. What you think is the end in the first chapter is just a part of Sam's life story, and there are so many twists and turns that you never know what will happen next.
Sam is gets out of his cage in a very funny set of events and winds up with Heidy, where she takes him to her new home. Once they arrive at her uncle's manson and dog kennel; it's is nothing like what Heidy expected. The house seems as lonely and sad as her uncle, who blames himself for Heidy's parents death, Also in the house is Mrs. Beaglehole, Heidy's uncle's helper I guess? She has a large poodle named Cassius, who has won the local dog show for years. She has plans to take over the mansion and kennels after heidy's uncle's death. But he tells them that this is all heidy's, to make it into what it once was. And when everyone sees Sam for the first time, they both make enemies quickly. Mrs, Beaglehole plans are dashed, and Cassius's dreams of winning the Westminster Dog Show is in jeopardy. (Sam is just that rare.)
After a series of events that Cassius sets up, Sam finds himself hurt, and without a home. He is far away from Heidy and she thinks he is gone forever. But Sam knows the truth of what happened, and who is to blame, so the book continues with his journey back to her and his plans of revenge.

This book is just so good. It is very, very sad in places. But there are also places that will have you laughing out loud. Mr Breathed balances nicely between the two. You meet some other dogs as well, the commandos that were mentioned. Each one is funny and flawed in someway. They have pretty much given up, and figure that no one could ever want them. That is until Sam gives a speech straight out of Braveheart that gets them going again and gives them hope.

This is a story of Sam, but it also is much more than that. It makes you think that maybe the dogs aren't the flawed ones at all, maybe it's the humans instead. Each has needs the others could fill, if they just get pass the outward and focus on what matters most, what's on the inside. Sam loses his way, not only where he is in reality but his actions and motives. But in the end, he comes to realize where he was wrong and what is truly important.

I don't want to say more, don't want to give away too much. This one you have GOT to read though, it is just one of the best. This is Mr breathed second novel. his other one is called Pete and Pickles. Which I am going to be looking for. He is also the the artist that is known for Bloom County, Opus, and if you have seen the movie Second Hand Lions, those are his drawings. (one of my favorite movies btw.)

You can find out more about him at : www.berkleybreathed.com

Really guys, if you love pets and stories like Lassie come home or Old Yeller, you are going to love this one.

Oh, and to answer my question. What do dogs dream about? Well let me let Mr, Breathed answer that one,

"All animals dream. But only dogs dream of us."

Hope you enjoy this as much as I have, and may you all have a Sam in your life.

Darcy

It ate Billy on Christmas- a book review

2009-10-30T23:01:27Z

Hey guys,
Got something different for you this time around, not a normal book by any means. And not one I would usually pick up either, but I saw this at my uncle's Hobby shop and comic book store and had to get it. Just for the title alone. :)

It ate billy on Christmas - A book review by Darcy Low

"It would have been a Christmas like any other for little Lumi and her horrible,terrible, obnoxious, awful bully of a brother Billy. But then a funny little monster appears and ate Billy right up! Lumi knows it's not really a good thing to let a monster eat your brother, but she can't help but notice that things are, in fact; much nice now that he is gone. Now that things are looking up a little in her world. Lumi has to decide what to do with her new little monster friend, and......most importantly; what's she going to feed him? "

Okay first let me state two things. First I don't like horror stuff, I won't watch scary movies, I won't read vampire or werewolves teen books, and although I read Twilight; I found it boring and totally unbelievable. (Sparkely Vampires.) But I do like a good scary story, like a ghost story, or edgar allen poe, stuff like that. I'll even watch the old black and white frankenstein and stuff. Just nothing newer.

Second, keep in mind; this is a children's picture book.

Lumi is a very shy, very picked on young girl. Her older brother Billy takes great delight in causing her grief. Breaking what little toys she has, punching her, sending her pet gerbil into orbit using a home built rocket, ect. Her parents are clueless to what is going on, or to the world around them. They mostly work, come home, and read the paper. Ignoring the kids. Every year at Christmas time, Billy get everything he asks for, including a matching pair of dart guns that he quickly fixes with needles inside the darts in order to torment Lumi with. (despite Lumi begging and pleading with her parents NOT to buy them.)
All Lumi ever wanted and asked for was a puppy of her own, but with the whole gerbil thing; her mom and dad thought it was best not to give Billy anything else to shoot off into space. So she decides to ask for stuff animals instead. But in the end, her mom always winds up giving her ceramic monkeys holding turtles. (Yeah, I didn't get that either.)

School isn't much better. Because she is shy and different, the other kids tend to ignore her, and she struggles with all of her classes. (Boy, i can relate to that.) Here too she is bullied by the the kids on the football team who call her names and like to pick on all the smaller kids.She does not have a fun life at all.

The monster himself is hard to describe really, looks pretty scary. Kind of a cross between a rat and one of those little mexican type dogs. (Which look like rats anyway.) When the book first starts out, he is described as a ancient being who lives in the bottom of a well. he used to feed on anyone or anything that was unlucky enough to have fallen in. But that was ages ago and now it is Christmas eve, and he smell all the food Lumi's mom has prepared for the big day tomorrow. After breaking in Santa style and eating up all of the food,.he decides t take a nap under the christmas tree. Where the kids find him christmas morning. And you know what happened next.

Now that the monster's tummy is full, Lumi must hide him from everyone and make things look normal again. She comes up with a good idea that fools her parents. But she has other problems to deal with. Sooner or later the little monster is going to wake up, and he is sure to be hungry again.

Did I mention this was a kid's book?

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad little book. It was pretty good actually and very creepy. The end is a twist and something you are like to see on a old twight light zone. I sure didn't see it coming, I can tell you. But a kid's book? I am going to recommend this to kids ages 11 and up, I think anyone younger will be freaked out by this and maybe have nightmares. It was a good book if you lake a scary story with a twist ending. (might even call it twisted.) This is a children's ghost story if told by Tim Burton, it has that nightmare before christmas feel to it.

The book is put out by Dark Horse books and is written by Roman Dirge, who has won four Eisner awards and is illustrated by Steven Daily.

So there you are, a scary little book just in time for Halloween.

You know what? This review just reminded me, I never did show you my new teddy bear have i? Just a sec, it's right here in my backpack. Yep.....here we are. What's that? Well, I know he's not much to look at, and kinda odd looking.....that noise? oh just his stomach growling, sounds like he is hungry....... Hey! Where are you going???

Hehehe,

Darcy

Sorry almost for got this:

http://www.amazon.com/Ate-Billy-Christmas-Roman-Dirge/dp/1593078536

In case you have trouble finding it.

We're baaaaaaack.......sorta

2009-10-29T01:25:37Z

Yeps,
I am back on the internet., MAHAHAHAHA. (evil darcy laugh.) We had a major hard drive crash and lost everything. Dad has the computer up at the shop to have it worked on. Won't get it back until maybe Saturday or next week sometime. I still got my lappy top, and I write stuff with that and post, so that's cool. But for everything else we are back to using this big huge tower dad built years ago. (2004.) It still works though and can play games on it including Champions on line.
So I can still do stuff, and you guys are going be getting a lot from me. and this week! yeps, darcy has been typing up a lot, all i got to do is go over my spelling and post them all. You will get THREE book reviews, a recipe from me and one from jenny! Yep, you read that right. Dvd reviews and I might go into other things that has been on my mind. Also a holloween update and what Ash and I got planned to do. She broke her leg, so we can't go out, getting too old for that anyways, so we made other plans.
Also updates on the champions games, why jenny quit world of warcraft after getting to level 50.

So don't worry, I am back and ready to resume where i left off.

:))

Darcy

hard drive crash

2009-10-25T21:23:40Z

Hey there,
Gots problems here, but we are slowing coming back. had to get a whole new hard drive, so reinstalling everything. ugh. we will be back soon. hopes.

Darcy

Diary of a wimpy kid.

2009-10-22T15:35:34Z

Hey guys,
This book review is going to be a little different from what I normally do. Don't worry, still going to be a book review, just I had issues with this book. But rather than posting a negative review, I thought about it and came up with a new way of approching the book itself. Hope you like my ideas.

Darcy

Dairy of a wimpy kid - A book review by Darcy Low

From the back of the book. -
" I'll be famous one day, but for now I'm stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons. " Being a kid can really stink. And no one knows this better than Gregg Heffley, who finds himself thrust into middle school , where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. In Diary of a wimpy kid, author and illustrator Jeff Kinney introduces us to an unlikely hero. As Gregg says in his dairy, " Just don't expect me to be all dear dairy this and dear dairy that." Luckily for us, what Gregg Heffley says he won't do and what he actually does are two very different things."

I have been hearing a lot about these little books, and with all the homework and math drama I have been going though; I have been looking for smaller books to read. So when I saw this on the shelf at my local bookstore and read the back of the cover, I was like this might be pretty good. And I was right........for the most part.
Gregg is your typical teen boy, struggling with day to day life in middle school. He is skinny, a geek, and doesn't have a lot of friends. But he is trying very hard to become popular at school, and wants very much to be remembered in the yearbook as someone cool He is also the middle child at home and is trying to fit in there as well. with a father that wants him to get into sports, a mother who is more worried with his education, (even to the point of showing up at his school as a sub one day.), a older brother who is into heavy metal music, and who loves to get anything embrassing on Gregg so he can tease him about it later on; and a younger brother named Manny who is just sooo cute.
Though out the book, we glimpse Gregg's plans for stardom and his views of middle school and the other kids around him. I thought this was the best part of the book, and it reminds me of my own life and school; I too struggle still with trying to fit in. I loved the talk about school plays, dealing with school bullies, gym classes, and "The gross mystery cheese, that has been out on the school play ground for ages." That no one wants to touch or go near. (can find so pretty gross stuff on playgrounds, let me tell ya.) The ideas that Gregg comes up with, and his views of other people are pretty funny, and even though you know they will never work; in some cases you find yourself going yeah I would have or have tried that as well. (the part about building the world's biggest snowman, Ashley and I myself have tryed. With much the same results. hehe. So there is a lot about Gregg I could relate too.
But Gregg was very hard to like for the most part, and a lot of times he came off as a jerk. He lies, cheats, he is greedy, and very self centered. He also treats his best friend like dirt and totally uses him. At one point in the book, he and his best friend Rowley are made school crossing guards. Their job is to help kindergarden school kids get home at the end of there day. At one point, Rowley has to miss a day of helping out, but he loans Gregg his jacket. Gregg finds a worm on the side walk anf terriorizes the little kids with it. A grown up sees this and thinks it Rowley, he gets in trouble and loses his badge and job as a school crossing guard. All the time Gregg keeps quite about it, and never comes forward in his friend's defense. Not wanting to get into trouble himself. That is no way to keep friends, or treat anyone for that mater.
But I don't want to turn this into a bad review, because the book is pretty good. And the idea of a middleschooler writing in a diary is pretty funny and a good idea for a teen book. But I want to be very careful about my recommending this to other kids.
So let me do this, I been thinking hard about this and I think this will work.
Parents get this book for your kids and read it with them, and talk about it as you do. Point out all the things that Gregg did wrong, his wrong headed attitude of others, ect. Show you kids how this is not the way to go, and how it is not a good way to treat people. I worry that younger kids will read these books and make Gregg into the hero the back cover would suggest. Trust me, he is no hero. So use this book to help guide you kids into being better friends, and show them how being so focused on yourself and what's good for you; is not the way to become the most popular kid in your class.
I am in no way saying this is a bad book, it is actually really good. Some of the stories are very funny, and the line drawings help move the story along.
I just wish the arthor had made Gregg someone you could get behind and root for. He could have been a lot nicer as a person. That was my main issue with the book. He was just so hard to like.
If I was to grade the book from 1 to 10, I would have to give it a five. But if I was to grade it on what I have suggested, using it as a guide for you kids on what NOT to do, I would give it a solid 10.
So there you go, hopefully this came off as a good review. I worked very hard at being fair and not going the negative route. Please let me know how I did. And as always, thanks for reading these.

Darcy

Footnote:

Brian Brown sent me this link and it shows a different view on the books.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114051484

Wish I had read it before I wrote my review, but it does show there are always two sides to everrything. And I can see how Gregg from the book could be a combination of a lot of things from kids lives. Or maybe I should say a adult thinking back on how things were for them growing up,

Thanks Brian!! I do hope I didn't come off negative in my review, it is a funny book and I think my idea is a pretty good one.

Have a great day guys!

Darcy

ummmmmm, yeah

2009-10-20T15:31:15Z

And they thought this was a good idea because???

http://www.greatwhitesnark.com/2009/10/16/nike-megatron-transformer/

Face/palm folks, Face/palm.

Darcy

Well this explains why it sucked

2009-10-20T15:24:56Z

I wonder if he is doing all those Sci Fi channel movies on Saturdays, just under a different name.

http://io9.com/5385350/michael-bay-explains-why-you-dont-need-a-script-to-start-making-an-awesome-movie

Would explain a lot.

Darcy

And now for something completly different.

2009-10-19T14:01:06Z

Hey Star war geeks!

Check this out, it's pretty funny and cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5_OSsawz4

Clean for anyone. I am always careful.

Darcy

Now hear this!

2009-10-19T13:52:40Z

Hey Guys,
I thought this time I would talk about something different, and tell you about one of regular podcasts that I listen too. As you know, I listen to a lot of the Farpoint shows, which I love. But sometimes I like to put on the head phones and lay back and listen to a good sci fi or fantasy story. If it's a good one, I can totally lose myself in it.
My grandpa also does the same thing. I find old radio shows and make cd's. then I go over to visit and we listen to them together. It reminds him of the days when that is all people had for entertainment People would get done working and eating supper, and sit around the radio, and be taken away by the new, or a story. Think of what a impact War of the worlds made.
Though grandpa, I have discovered such great old shows as Jack Benny, Red Skelton, and the martin and lewis show. But I have found one on my own.

http://moonbooks.net/scifi/

I listen to and love X Minus One, the old sci fi radio show podcast. It has some of the best stories on it. The actors are really good, and not all of it is serious sci fi, some of it has some humor too it. One of my favorite stories were, "The martin death march." A great story of prejudice and intollerance, told from the side of the beings that it is being leveled against. Really showed there are two sides to everything and no one is truly innocent.

All of teh shows are clean and okay for anyone to listen too. I would warn parents with younger kids to maybe listen to the stories first, and make your own judgement. Some are pretty scary sometimes. One called "The invasion" dealt with aliens using little kids to help them take over the world. The ending made me go though and turn on all the lights in our house. So be careful and listen together. Which is the best way to do any of the things I list. Share with the whole family. I listen to these with grandpa and we have a lot of fun talking after wards.

Not only am I entertained, but I come away from this podcast thinking about it a long time after.

Hope you check it out and enjoy.

:)

Darcy

Shenanigans

2009-10-18T13:15:46Z

OMG,
And to think we were all sitting there with our hearts in our mouths, These people really need to have the book thrown at them!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091018/ap_on_re_us/us_balloon_boy

Hope the kid writes a tell all book one day and winds up on Oprah.

Grrrrrrrrr.

Darcy

Rocketman

2009-10-18T12:57:00Z

You guys ever go though the bargin bins in walmart's video sections? If not, you really should. Sometimes, once you get pass all the bad sci fi channel type movies, or the tons of Will Farrell movies, you come up with some really good movies to watch. This is one of them.

October Sky -

"In Coal wood, West Virginia; 1957. Coal mining is king and no one can escape life underground. But when high schooler Homer Hickman Jr, (actor Jake Gyllenhaal) sees the Soviet satellite Sputnik streak overhead, he aims for the stars and a new destiny in this incredible true story of hope, determination and triumph. With the help of his teacher (Laura Dern) and three buddies, Homer sets out to build his own rocket. How Homer overcomes seemingly impossible obstacles, poor education, a disapproving father, (Chris Cooper) and a series of misfires that threaten to flatten his dreams and the town; And fulfills his vision is the launching pad for one of the most timeless, inspirational stories ever brought to the screen,"

This is by far one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. I started and stopped this review several times, because I didn’t know where to start first.

Homer grew up in a coalmining town, which was dying. The times were hard back then, the same as now. The small town only had one industry, the mines. So all the boy's there knew that without money and a good education, that was where they would wind up. Working in the mine. Homer and his friends wanted out of that town, but all though the movie you got the feeling they were trapped. Due to lack of money and lack of scholarships. So the town and the mine itself took on its own role and almost became a character themselves. Even the look of the town was depressing lot of people were moving out and a lot of the shops were closing down.

Homer's father was one of the best mine workers the town ever had, he was always the trouble shooter and the go to person when something went wrong. Though out the movie, he is struggling to keep the own going and keep the remaining mine workers happy. (Some are trying to form a union.) He is proud of his job and his town, and would love to see Homer working by his side. But as you can see, Homer had greater plans for his life. The character of the father was played very well; you really wanted to hate him at first. He was always onto Homer about giving up on "all this foolishness", and keeps telling him the only future he had was in these mines. You just wanted to shake him at time and say, look at what your son is trying to do and see how much better things will be. I won’t spoil this movie in anyway, but I will tell you where I was shown the father in a new light and describe for you one of the best sconces in the movie. One of Homer's friends has lost his father years ago in a mining accident. And is now living with a stepfather who handles his troubles in life by getting drunk and taking it out on his stepson. At one point in the movie, Homer and his dad are riding in their car when they see his friend being yelled at on the street by the stepfather, it looks as if he is going to start beating on him, Homer’s father stops the car, jumps out and tells the boy to get in the car, then he confronts the stepfather. Afterwards he gets back in the car, where the boy is in the backseat crying, Homer’s father turns around and tells him. “I knew your father, he worked for me. He was the best worker I ever had and I was darned proud to call him a friend." It was such a small thing, but oh so powerful. It made you stop and say, hey wait a minute, there is a lot more to this person than I thought, and I really showed the human side to the character.

Homer himself never gave up No matter how hard things went. Some of the tries and failures with the rocket are both sad and funny at the same time. His friends, older people that helped him behind his father's back and his teacher were really great on there own. The teacher herself could see that the town was dying around everyone and that the only hope these kids had was a good education and a scholarship to go on to greater things. She was one of the best supporters for Homer. And I really loved her character.

Homer's mother was also another supporter, but she was more soft spoken and quiet about it all. She helped Homer out of course, but she also trod to reason with the father. You could see how sad she felt at all of her friends, people she had know for years that were leaving the town. She too saw this as perhaps Homer's only chance at a better life. She was a very strong woman with a lot of inner strength about her.

One more person I wanted to mention was a Russian man who was Homer's friend. He shared in Homer's vision and gave him encouragement. When he got to the point to where he too had to go work in the mine, it was a very touching moment. It was hard for Homer and just added to his own struggles.

I don't want to go farther, because I feel I could spoil this by saying too much. I will urge you to sneak this one out and sit down with you kids and watch this. This is why we should keep NASA going, and why we should encourage hopes and dreams in people. You never know where it will lead, or how much greater the world will become later. Go get this one guys, buy it and love it. It’s all a true story by the way. Homer is still out there, looking up and reaching for the stars.

But wait, I am not done yet with my review, when I sit down and write these up now, I do lot of research. I think that is what is lacking in a lot of reviews. I don't want to just come in here and say, this movie rocks or this movie sucks. Anyone can do that, I want to give you guys more.

So I went online and looked up Homer, and wow do I have something cool for you guys. As I said, this is a true story, Homer is still out there and he has his own blog.

http://www.homerhickam.com/about/bio.shtml

So here is a the chance to write and talk to a real life hero. And follow what he is doing. I myself have made it my home page and follow his blog every day now. :)

Way to go Homer! Thank you for not giving up and thanks for giving the rest of us kids hope for our own futures.

Darcy

Important Darcy notice

2009-10-15T19:18:20Z

Listen up! Kids, the movie "Up" was just a movie. Please don't try this at home.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_re_us/us_boy_in_balloon

Wow, just wow. And where was the parents? Sure hope they get him down safely. this is some scarry stuff.

Darcy

Thank goodness this ended the way it did, Turns out he was hiding and didn't get in the balloon.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8309818.stm

But just think of if he had and what would have happened. Which brings me to my point, kids; if you do something bad own up to it. Come forward and tell your parents, hey i screwed up. Believe me, they will understand and things will not be as bad as you imagine. We tend to forget they were kids too, and did the same things as us growing up.
And parents, this story should show how easy it is for little kids to get in trouble. In the blink of a eye. Spend time with you kids, and know where they are and what they are doing every minute. Don't just turn them outside and go back to whatever you were doing. We see that sort of thing all the time here when I go to the mall or the movies, people pull up in cars and just drop off their kids and take off. Even kids a LOT younger than me,
Hello...own up to you responsiblity. Be the adult! And people wonder when tragic things happen, why it did.

The thing also you should see in the report that I added, are a few things. "He yelled at me." Looks like the kid did this to get back for being yelled at, if that's the case and the parents don't take care of things now. What will happen when he starts driving?

And again, HELLO; if you are going have a huge wheather ballon in you backyard, how about not filling it up until you are there and ready to do whatever you are going to do with it. Why keep it filled and be inside watching sports or whatever? Be safer for your kid and the neighbors would like ya more.

Ah well, all ended well I guess. But don't just read this and shake you head, read it and take from it some live lessons. That's we all should do with news anyway.

hugs from me, and hug your kids,

Darcy